Philly Marathon 2009 - The Kick to the Finish

Did the Philly Marathon with my son Jon. Wanted to break 5 hours. We start the race at 7:20 AM after removing our garbage bags fitted over our heads to ward off the cold. We "high five" the Mayor of Philadelphia as we pass the starting line. Weather is perfect, a bit chilly at first, but after 1.5 miles we throw off our shirts and roll up our arm warmers and settle in. Great crowd, slight downhill, mostly flat and fast. We go through downtown Philly, head to Penns Landing, and come back through South Street. Fans are loud, bands playing on the sidelines, a big party. We head up towards the Penn Campus and Drexel, and pass by some frat houses with the frat boys and cheerleaders rooting us on. Then up through a park and back down to the Philly Museum where we started. This completes the first 13.1 miles. Our time is 2:19, and things looked and felt great. Thought we would come in around 4:45 if we just took it easy.

But the bottom half, a relatively sedate meander through a park up to a local town, caused Jon to cramp up screeching the train to a halt quite a few times for some stretching and walk breaks. My quads were burning and the sides of my legs were beginning to talk. Starting to run after these breaks was now painful. Watching the clock, we had slowed and slowed and it was not looking too good. The cramps did not subside and Jon was having severe difficulty even walking. He managed to shake it off every now and then, but it would return.

We were down to the wire as we closed in on mile 25. According to my wrist band pacer, we had 1.2 miles to go and ten minutes left if we wanted to break 5 hours. That meant we would have to do an unthinkable kick and do under a 9 minute mile for the final 1500 meters to the finish. After 25 miles and in grueling pain I just told Jon it was OK and we should just coast and be proud of what we had done. To be sure, Jon was hurting, fighting off charleyhorses and cramps for most of the second half. I didn't want to put even more pressure on him and risk injury.

However, Jon would have none of it. He says "No way" and starts kicking ass pulling me in his draft. We keep passing runner after runner as the crowd swells and the cheers begin. I am on the brink of collapse in excruciating pain, just praying for the finish line to materialize. I am nearly dying of pain, but if my son is up for it far be it for me to wimp out.

We finish at 4:59:12, and must have done a 7 or 8 minute mile at the end. Unbelievable...I said from the medical tent as I could not frickin' move my legs! I mean, I could not navigate over a curb even with leaning on Jon. I had to walk down a bit where there was no curb to get to the medical tent. I was really hurting worse than I had ever had before (But no amount of pain could wipe the smile off my face for having broken 5 hours and seeing Jon kick like a beast after 25 miles). The doc looks me over and we chat about Ironman and things and he diagnoses an IT Band issue, nothing major. I will be fine with some rest. Jon had some knee pains and I need to check with him today. But we both came back with some memories.

Today, I go for a walk (gimp?) to the Pharmacy to get some Motrin. My biggest fear is navigating across the street. It takes about 2 minutes. Then I am not sure if I can get over the curb, so I walk to the driveway. Then I find I can't take the Motrin. So I head back home and now I think I will run the bath. I just have to figure a way to get in and out of it.

Today's Ride January 5 2009

It was a cold gray day in New Jersey, but temps were supposed to be mild, in the 40s. The group decided it would make a good day to ride and we met up at the Duck Pond, our usual meeting place. Upon arrival, I got out of the car and noticed that it felt quite a bit colder than the 39 degrees my car thermometer was reading. The sky was dark, covered by a thick set of clouds, and the air felt damp. Undaunted, I decided to dress in three layers and suited up for the ride. Ed decided the route this time, and selected Boonton as our destination. This would be a 55 mile ride to one of our favorite delis in New Jersey.

As soon as the ride started, the group began to splinter. Ed, our ride leader, is a fast rider, and several of the group hadn't been out riding for weeks. Ed would routinely stop to let others catch up, usually at the top of the climbs. No one was dropped. The deli stop was uneventful as was the debriefing at Dunkin Donuts for coffee after the ride.

As is sometimes the case, one of the riders suggested an alternate route to "avoid the hills". Generally, what this entails is usually substituting one hill for another. I have yet to figure out how to "avoid hills" without traveling hours around the hills, often meeting newer hills in the journey. This was no different. Having been assured it would be "all downhill" if we took North Monroe, we decided to give it a try. Of course, at the point we picked up North Monroe, we had to climb about one mile before we hit that "all downhill" point. Moreover, we had to pass a school that was just letting its students home for the day. Nothing worse than navigating the streets on your bicycle knowing they are filled with mothers racing to pick up their children from school, often while talking on their cell phones. Mothers, what's up with THAT!